A Victorian Specimen of an African Tree Pangolin, Manis Tricuspis (1800 to 1900 South America)

Pangolin

See: Finch and Co catalogue no. 10, item 58, for an example of a Giant Pangolin

The tree Pangolin is an adept climber having a very long prehensile tail that helps it to grip. During the day the tree Pangolin sleeps on the branches of a tree and emerges at night to feed on tree dwelling ants and termites which it detects by smell. It tears open arboreal nests with its powerful fore limbs and sweeps up insects with deft movements of its long tongue. Like all Pangolins it shows a strong preference for particular species of ant and termite, and will reject others.

A Victorian Specimen of an African Tree Pangolin, Manis Tricuspis
19th Century

Size: 9cm high, 50cm long – 7½ ins high, 19¾ ins long